We (family of five) spent a fortnight at casa vista. The view from the house is great. Also, despite the high temperatures in late July and early August, there was a fresh, pleasant breeze on the veranda most of the time. However, we were disappointed about the distance to the beach. After all, this was our key decision criterion. According to the house description (when we booked), the “nearest beach is 0.5 Kilometers” away. We thus expected a beach to be in walking distance of the house. That however is NOT the case. The nearest beach, Li Cossi, is definitely not around the corner or in walking distance. It is more than 4 Kilometers away (we noticed the description now suggests the beach is a little over 1 K away--no, it's not!). The pretty beach can be accessed via a footpath which begins at the parking place after the diving school. The diving school is a ten minute drive from the house, from there it is a 15 minute walk. Another nice beach is Cala Sarraina which is 15 minutes away by car; go to SP 90, turn left toward Santa Teresa and after about 5 minutes follow the sign for Cala Sarraina (i.e., turn left off the SP 90).
Moreover, the house could have been better equipped. There were only 6 knives, forks and spoons. Wine glasses were sorely missed. There is a washing machine and iron, but no ironing board. After four days, wine glasses and some other items were provided, however other essentials (especially in Italy) such as a cheese grater or saucepan were missing altogether.
Given the high temperatures at night, an AC would definitely be useful. Most nights it was simply too hot to sleep. One fan is not enough for three bedrooms. What else deserves mention? First, there are ants crawling all over the kitchen. Second, bring wasp repellent for the outside eating area! More than once we had to flee indoors because of the many wasps. Quite annoying, really, especially since we suffered several stings.
Almost everything (groceries, papers, stamps, etc.) can be purchased on site in little shops that are reminiscent of those on a camping site. More shops and restaurants as well as a great ice cream parlour (Gelatomania, 17 Via Nazionale) can be found in Badesi, which is about half an hour south of Costa Paradiso. A little farther is Castelsardo which is definitely worth a visit. The Castello (Castelsardo’s main attraction) is quite beautiful and there are lots of decent restaurants and pizzerias to choose from.
